Big Sur: Day 2

   At 6am in the Fernwood campground there was a low laying fog on the ground and the sun was starting to peak through the trees.  I slowly got out of my extremely warm sleeping bag and left Sarah to catch a few more z's.

Before I continue, I have to point out that the Starbucks instant coffee has to be my favorite camping item.  It ready when the hot water is, there is no clean up, and it tastes delicious black.  SO, after packing up the car, a couple cups of coffee, and a  bowl of blueberry oatmeal, we were off to Andrew Molera State Park.


The hike we set out to do was called the Andrew Molera Loop.  The 8.8 mile loop takes you along the Bluffs, Panorama, and Ridge trails with lots of ascents and descents.  We started off in the parking lot of Molera SP and found the trail. We were instantly greeted with a river crossing, without any bridges in sight. It was a chilly morning, probably in the 40s.  Neither of us had waterproof shoes on, so I took off my shoes and socks and had Sarah jump on my back. Then across the river we trekked.  Let me tell you, I don't recommend crossing a river barefoot in the middle of winter at 8am.  IT WAS FREAKING COLD!  That didn't stop Sarah (who was nice and warm and hanging on my back) from laughing all the way across.  The first part of the trail takes you to a secluded beach with a great view of the coast line.  From there you travel across the bluffs and through some amazing wildlife.

We happend to get really close to a fawn and got to watch it eat breakfast.

Fawn

After you get to a bench, the turn around spot, you head back along the ridge of Molera SP through a canopy of redwoods.  It's truly an amazing hike so make sure to bring your camera and plan lots of time.

Halfway!

The Panorama Trail

As we headed back to LA Sarah made me pull off on the side of the road right before the Hearst Castle.  There laying across the beach, like hundreds of giant slugs, were elephant seals bathing in the sun.  These guys are huge!!!  It's really cool to watch them interact with each other, grunt, and flip sand on their backs.

After all the adventures we were exhausted, so we started the loooong drive back to LA.

Big Sur, CA - Day 1

For the Thanksgiving weekend, Sarah and I were off to Northern California to visit family and devour mass quantities of food.  On our way back home we decided to spend a night camping in Big Sur.  Coming from Monterey, we drove down highway 1 stopping at look out points all along the way.  The drive is so beautiful that you feel like your in another world.

The campground we ended up choosing was called Fernwood.  Its a privately owned campground off the 1 that also has cabins you can rent.  As you drive down the road to the camp spot your surrounded by huge redwoods and the sound of a gentle creek.  Since there were so many trees, it seem like it stayed a little cooler in the campgrounds.  Sarah and I quickly set up our camp and got ready to get a hike or two in before sunset.

McWay Creek cascading into the ocean

We headed down to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to do a small hike called the McWay Waterfall Trail.  Its extremely easy hike and you are rewarded with a view of McWay Creek cascading into the ocean.  It's a spectacular site.  Dont forget to check out Big Sur's Coast line on the north side of the viewing area.  It's just as spectacular.

Big Sur's coast line

At the main parking area there are 2 more hiking trails you can explore.  The Ewoldsen Trail is a 4.5 mile loop full of old redwood forests and ocean views.  When we were there this trail was closed, but I have heard you can still hike it.  The other trail is called Canyon trail and is a great short hike with some  creek crossings up to a waterfall.



        

Sunset

After the short hike we headed up north and had coffee at Big Sur Coast Gallery Cafe.  It's located off highway 1 with an amazing view of the ocean.  As it was getting close to sunset we decided to get a better view and headed off to find a place to watch the sunset.

Sarah painting with light

We found a great area to take some photos of the sunset then headed back to camp for some dinner and a camp fire.

Check out more photos of the trip here!!

Scotty's Fall and Recovery

Hey Everyone,  sorry Sarah and I haven't been posting our adventures lately.  On September 11th (ironic) I was going for a ride up to Griffith Park and took a huge spill.

Right before the accident

I had my friends guess where I was.

I had just put a new chain and front derailleur on my bike and was excited to see how they would preform.  As I was riding next to WB Studio I got out of the saddle and started jamming hard.  Right then my chain broke and, from what I can remember, I flipped over my bars hit my head hard and bounced across the pavement.  I pulled myself to the curb and called Sarah to let he know what happened.  It was only then that I realized I broke my clavicle.  Angered that I wouldn't get to finish my ride I called my friend Tara and headed to the hospital.

My bike wouldn't fit in her car so the kind security guards at WB held it in their office for me.  

Sarah and I still went to Catalina

I had to wear this stupid gown

That next week I went into surgery (first one of my life) and the doctors rest my bone and held it together with a plate and screws.  It was definitely a rough few day after the surgery, but it was well worth it in the end.

I am now almost fully recovered and ready to get back out there and have some fun.  We are hoping to get out to Angeles National Forest this weekend to relax by a camp fire.

The best part about this whole experience?  I'm going to have a sweet scar!

After the surgery

Arches: Mag7

    Sarah and I decided to get a little later start today as we thought we would need to take a shuttle to the top of the bike ride.  After stopping in a local shop called Poison Spider and getting a map of the area we headed up to the trail head with a plan to just ride back up to the top instead of taking the shuttle.  Our plan was to do a ride called Mag7 or The Magnificent 7.  Mag7 consists of 7 rides called Bull Run, Arth’s Corner, Great Escape, Little Canyon, Gold Bar Rim, Gold Bar Rim 4x4 and Poison Spider Mesa 4x4.  Most of the trails are downhill, super technical, single track trails.  Sarah decided to take it easy today as she hadn’t been feeling well since last night.  That means I had a ride once I got to the bottom, or so I thought.  After riding the brutal Bull Run, Arth’s Corner and Little Canyon I was about 8.5 miles into the ride and torn apart.  I would compare these rides to trying to hold onto a roller coaster without being strapped in.  After I got to the bottom I realized that Sarah wouldn’t be able to make it all the way down without 4 wheel drive so I biked back up the hill and finally found Sarah relaxing on the side of the road.  


We were both desperately looking for some relief from the sun, so we found a local waterfall/ natural pool to go cool off in.  It was a great spot for jumping from the rocks into the pool below.  After 20 minutes of waiting in the pool below for Sarah, I actually got her to jump in.  That night we packed up our head lamps and headed out to watch the sunset from a trail that was close to our site. On our way we got to see the Landscape Arch, which is one of the more peculiar arches that we saw since it was so wide and skinny. We knew we were close to missing the best part of the sunset so I made Sarah run so we didn't miss it. When we go to a clearing at the the top of the rocks the winds were brutal. Sarah had sand in her eyes and was being blown back and forth. I made the mistake of setting down my nalgene, which got blown off the cliff.  It was all worth it though when we got to take in the most beautiful sunsets of the whole trip.  The hike back was fun since it was pretty dark and we were the only ones out on the rocky trail. Luckily, the only run-in we had was with a ranger who was checking for any lost hikers. 

  

 

Moab: Slick Rock Bike Trail

    At 5:00am this morning Sarah woke me up saying some animal is sniffing around our tent.  Thinking she meant a coyote, I grabbed for my knife and reluctantly went outside to find nothing out there.  Later she tells me she just thought it was a ground squirrel.  We were told that if we wanted to do the Slick Rock bike trail we should start early or the heat would kill us.  So we loaded our bikes, got some breakfast in town and were at the park by 6:45am.  As a side note, remember to bring $5 cash to get into the park or you will have to scrounge up every penny you have in your change drawer, just like we did. (the rangers there probably hate us)  After a quick tune up we were off on the trail.  We had originally planned on doing the 2.2 mile practice loop but Sarah was feeling ambitious and we jumped onto the 10.4 mile Slick Rock Loop.  Just in case you have never heard of this trail:  The 10.4 mile loop is rated a 4 out of 1-4 with 4 being the hardest.  The trail runs almost all on slick rock.  Slick rock is a sandstone type of rock in which your tires stick to almost like glue and helps you get vertical on the bike.  It is an extremely difficult and fun ride and will get your heart rate pumping to its max.  If you’re a mt biker this is unlike any bike ride you will ever do. It takes a little while to trust that your tires will stick to the rock but once you do it makes for a pretty awesome rode.  Almost at the end of the ride my rear axel finally gave into the extreme pressure I was putting on it and broke.  I was able to bomb down the rest of the ride and finish strong.  I ended up taking my bike to an awesome local shop called Chili Peppers and the guys there fixed it right on the spot for a great price.  It seems like all the bike shops in Moab are filled with awesome guys who love biking and don’t care what level biker you are or how much money you have. (Unlike some citys...cough..LA.. cough)

 

Most of the rest of the day was spent enjoying some amazing lunch at a local coffee shop, relaxing and pumping liquids into our body’s to get ready for mt. biking day 2 tomorrow!

Scott riding some slick rock

Sarah bombing down a hill

Colorado River

Scotty made it to the bottom

One of the only flat parts of the ride

Colorado River viewing

Extreme climbing (this is why I broke my back hub)

We did it!